June 16, 2017 was a day full of emotions for Todd Doherty — but what happened hours later at 3:27 a.m. on his way home to Prince George was life-changing.
Earlier in the day, the Cariboo-Prince George MP had to debate his bill in the House of Commons. A vote on the bill followed.
The bill, C-211, called on the federal government to develop a national framework regarding post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with respect to veterans, first responders and military.
"That day was actually the third reading," he says. "In the legislative process, that was kind of the last hurdle in Parliament to get a bill passed. It was a very emotional day when my bill passed unanimously and moved to the Senate, which was ... a massive achievement just getting it to that point."
Doherty had a group of first responders, veterans and military on hand who were present to watch the vote. Shortly after things went in his favour, he had to rush to catch a flight.
"I literally had to leave quickly to get on the plane," he tells PrinceGeorgeMatters. "Fly from Ottawa to Toronto, Toronto to Vancouver."
The inbound flight from Toronto was delayed and airline staff didn't think he would make the connection in Vancouver. An Air Canada agent met him at the gate and told him they would be putting him in a hotel and that he'd be on a flight the next morning.
Doherty needed to get back to Prince George because he was scheduled to speak at a community event early Saturday morning.
"I kind of pleaded with them to let me get on that plane if it's still here," he says. "I ran to the gate and they allowed me on the plane."
Upon taking his seat, he realized one of his friends was also a passenger.
Doherty proceeded to fall asleep, only to be woken up by a loud bang later on.
"It kind of startled me," he says. "I looked over at my friend and his eyes were wide open and he said, 'Do you know first aid?' So I got up really quickly and saw somebody (had fallen). We were in row three and a person collapsed in row one."
Doherty got out of his seat and made his way to the front row. The individual who collapsed had collapsed on another person also sitting in row one.
"I basically had to say to the other person, 'Look, you're going to have to either get up, help or get out the way'," he says.
There was another passenger who helped, says Doherty. They needed more help because the man who collapsed was crumpled in the seat and he needed to be moved into a prone position. Once he was in the position, Doherty started chest compressions.
"I was doing chest compressions and checking his pulse," he recalls. "He was unresponsive but slowly the colour started to come back and his eyes started to move and at that time, we're talking and I'm trying to get his attention to talk to him."
The man's pulse was very faint.
The flight attendant was at the back of the plane and wasn't aware of what was taking place.
"Because I fell asleep, I thought we were closer to Prince George but it turned out we were closer to Vancouver so the plane had to turn around and go back to Vancouver."
The flight attendant went and talked to the pilots while Doherty continued to work on the man.
"As we were getting the man off the plane, we got him on the gurney on the tarmac and I briefed the paramedics about what happened."
Before the landing back in Vancouver, Doherty had a stunning realization. He knew the man he had helped.
"I knew his wife, I knew his family," he says. "That's when things started hitting home. As we got back on the plane, a lot of emotions hit you."
Doherty says the hardest thing for him was when the plane taxied away to head back to Prince George. He knew he had to leave the man behind and that he was all alone.
"It still strikes me to this day," he says. "It was hard. Frantically, for whatever reason, I couldn't remember his wife's name. I called my wife and said, 'This is what happened, can you tell me who this person was or what their last name is?' And she told me."
He then sent a message through Facebook to her to tell her all that transpired.
No updates came through, which left Doherty wondering what had happened. He later found out from the man that he crashed three more times after leaving the plane and paramedics had to bring him back.
The wife of the man contacted Doherty and told him her husband was coming home. He'd fly back the same day Doherty was due in Ottawa.
"That day, I asked Air Canada if I could go out on the tarmac and see this man," he says. "If they could speak to security to allow the wife on the tarmac as well. We just had a mini-reunion on the tarmac when he came off the plane and it was an emotional time."
The man then reached out to Doherty a few days later.
"I knew it was serious but he had sent me a note a day or two after," he says. "I was asking him how he was doing and he said, 'I think you broke my ribs.' And he says, 'I'll take broken ribs over a tag on the toe any day.' He said, 'You're like my angel.'"
On Sept. 19, Doherty was given the St. John Ambulance life-saving award in Ottawa for his actions.
